Lurgi process performance

In order to control heat removal and therefore the catalyst temperature, multiple-tube reactors (Lurgi process) or quench reactors with several catalyst layers and introduction of cold gas (ICI process) are mainly used. Catalyst performance in modern larger reactors is 1.3-1.5 kg of methanol per liter per hour, and large-scale plants have capacities of up to 10 fra, which reflects the position of methanol as a key product of Ci chemistry. 

In response to a request from the New Zealand Government, Mobil Research and Development Corporation built a four barrels per day fixed-bed pilot plant to demonstrate the feasibility of the gas-to-gasoline process. This was a major scale-up of the laboratory woik and the pilot plant performed precisely as predicted. Reports to the LFTB by Lurgi and Badger also indicated confidence that the process would scale successfully from the pilot plant to... 

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